Pekovic, Timberwolves agree on new 5-yr, $60M deal

MINNEAPOLIS (AP)

After weeks of negotiations, waiting and watching, the two sides
came to agreement on Wednesday on a new five-year contract worth
$60 million that includes an additional $8 million in
incentives.

''He's a dominating offensive player,'' Timberwolves president
of basketball operations Flip Saunders said in a conference call.
''He plays extremely hard. He probably will work as hard as he can
to live up to a contract he signs, whatever it is worth.''

After posting a career-high 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per
game last season, the 27-year-old Pekovic was a restricted free
agent when the NBA's fiscal year opened on July 1. That meant the
Timberwolves had the right to match any offer he received from
another team, and Saunders made it clear from the start that they
would do whatever it took to keep him in Minnesota.

In the end, that included adding a fifth year on the initial
four-year, $48 million offer they presented Pekovic and his agent,
Jeff Schwartz, a few weeks ago.

''With him and Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio, we've got three
cornerstones in that franchise that all complement each other,''
Saunders said.

After three seasons in the NBA, Pekovic has emerged as one of
the best offensive big men in an increasingly center-scarce league.
He figured to garner a lot of interest from other teams looking to
add some size and scoring to the paint. He waited for Dwight Howard
to choose between several suitors. When Howard signed with the
Houston Rockets, the belief was that a lucrative offer from one of
the teams that missed out - perhaps the Hawks or Mavericks - could
be on the way.

Both of those teams decided not to pursue Pekovic, but the
Timberwolves were still left holding their breath in hopes that
another team with abundant cap space like the Bucks would force
their hand with a monster offer.

That offer never came. With the market settling down and the
likelihood of another offer growing more remote by the day,
Saunders came through with the fifth year on the deal to get it
done. Because Pekovic was a restricted free agent and not signing
an extension on his rookie deal, the Timberwolves still have the
one five-year, rookie scale deal allowed by the current collective
bargaining agreement for Rubio, if they so choose.

There was some question about whether giving Pekovic five years
would agitate Love, who wasn't happy when previous president David
Kahn refused to give him the team's ''designated player'' five-year
extension in 2012. But Kahn was fired after last season and
Saunders said he has had conversations about the Pekovic deal with
Love, who gave his full support.

''More than anything else Kevin wants to win,'' Saunders said.
''As we talked about Pek, he said, `You have to do what you have to
do.' ... I don't know what's been done in the past and I really
don't care. As he said, we're moving forward.''

The 6-foot-11 Pekovic averaged just 0.8 blocks per game last
season, meaning he isn't the classic rim protector that would be
the biggest asset for a Timberwolves defense that is short on
stoppers. He also missed 20 games last season and 15 the year
before due to various nagging injuries that come about due to his
physical style of play.

But keeping Pekovic was a priority for Saunders and Wolves coach
Rick Adelman, who valued the Montenegrin's soft hands and quick
feet in the post as well as his underrated pick-and-roll
defense.

Now that his deal is done, Pekovic will team with Love and Rubio
to form a promising young core for the Wolves, who will be pushing
for their first postseason appearance since 2004. In a league that
is getting smaller and smaller, with few dominant big men, the
Wolves see Pekovic's size and strength as one of their best chances
to create consistent mismatches in the demanding Western
Conference.

The key will be keeping Pekovic on the floor. He has missed time
due to various foot and ankle issues, most minor in nature that
come from the pounding he takes on a nightly basis. When Saunders
took over for Kahn earlier this summer, he said he thought the
Wolves could make some adjustments that would help him and the rest
of their players stay healthy over the long season.

Saunders said Wednesday that the target will be ''in the 70s''
in terms of the number of games Pekovic will play.

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